Feds: Secret tape shows jailed crime boss still in charge

NEW YORK (AP) -- When ailing crime boss Vincent ''Chin'' Gigante was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 1997, even the judge wrote him off as ''a shadow of his former self.''

But prosecutors now say heart disease and life behind bars have not been enough to dethrone Gigante. A sweeping racketeering indictment filed last week identified the inmate as the reigning boss of the secretive and powerful Genovese organized crime family.

Although Gigante, 73, was not among the 45 defendants charged with crimes ranging from murder to stock fraud, officials claimed he still calls shots from a federal lockup in Fort Worth, Texas. They said Genovese affiliates refer to him by rubbing their chins.

Officials declined to elaborate on any new evidence against Gigante, who was convicted on murder conspiracy charges in 1997.

Before the conviction, Gigante would wander Greenwich Village in a bathrobe, mumbling to himself -- a routine that earned him the nickname ''Oddfather.'' His lawyers insist he's mentally ill; authorities call him a faker.

An FBI report obtained by The Associated Press details an October 2000 dinner conversation about the family's leadership between a reputed Genovese soldier and an informant.

During the meeting at an Italian restaurant on Manhattan's Upper East Side, the alleged soldier, Paul ''Slick'' Geraci, explained that Frank Serpico -- once believed to have ascended to acting boss in Gigante's absence -- ''ain't the guy. He never was the guy.''